Phil Ivey is among the most highly respected poker professionals of our time and given his skills and ability to take advantage of every opportunity and eventually emerge victorious, his reputation among peers and fans of the game is not a surprise.
At the age of 39, Ivey has won almost every single prestigious live tournament title that one can think of and has managed to establish his name in online poker as well. The player has generally been recognized as one of the best contemporary poker players. His live tournament winnings amount to $23.2 million and he has also collected millions of dollars at the tables of different online poker rooms.
Ivey has captured a total of 10 WSOP gold bracelets since the beginning of his career. However, he has not won the $10,000 Main Event yet. The player can also boast of a WPT title. He won that one in 2008 for topping the field of the WPT $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic. Ivey has also won the A$250,000 Challenge, part of the schedule of the Aussie Millions Poker Championship, not once or twice, but three times. Multiple final table finishes at some of the world’s most prestigious tournaments are also in the player’s list of poker accomplishments.
Ivey will turn 40 on February 1, 2016. Among other things, this also means that the player will finally be eligible for a WSOP Poker Hall of Fame nomination. And many believe that he will not only be nominated but will also be inducted in 2016.
Generally speaking, players need to meet certain requirements in order to be able to get nominated. In the first place, they need to have played against acknowledged competition over the course of their careers. They also need to be at least 40 years old, to have taken part in high stakes poker games, to have won the respect of their peers, and to have played consistently over the years.
Let’s see whether Ivey meets any of these requirements. Given the fact that the player has taken part in some of the world’s most prestigious tournaments, he has most definitely faced some really tough and renowned opponents. And the fact that he has won a great number of those events shows that he himself has been an equally tough and skillful opponent.
Requirement number two says that a player needs to be “a minimum of 40 years old” at the time of his or her nomination. And as mentioned above, Ivey is to turn 40 in February. And poker fans are usually given the chance to nominate players and poker personalities that are to join the Poker Hall of Fame in the summer of each calendar year.
According to the third requirement, a player needs to have played in high roller tournaments in order to be eligible for nomination. Over the course of his career, Ivey has not only taken part in some of the highest buy-in events around the world, but has also won a great many of those.
Here it is also important to note that the player is among the most highly respected personalities in the poker community. And he enjoys the goodwill not only of fans of the game but also of fellow poker players. For instance, he has been nicknamed the Tiger Woods of Poker by peers due to his numerous accomplishments.
The last requirement that players need to meet in order to be eligible for a Poker Hall of Fame nomination says that they need to have played consistently well over the course of their career and to have stood the test of time. And it could be said that Ivey is among those poker pros who always manage to amaze opponents and fans while at a poker table. What is more, the mere fact that the player has won the Aussie Millions Poker Championship A$250,000 Challenge three times between 2012 and 2015 is particularly indicative of his consistency.
According to poker experts, Phil Ivey will certainly be among the next year’s inductees into the Poker Hall of Fame. And it could be said without the slightest exaggeration that he has deserved his place among poker’s best players and most popular personalities. Perhaps, he would have joined the Poker Hall of Fame much earlier, if it had not been for the age requirement.
And it is also important to mention his contributions to the promotion and popularization of the game, aside from his accomplishments on the felt. Ivey has long been among poker’s best ambassadors, encouraging enthusiasts around the world to join the poker community.
